Hearing this, Shu Nian looked at the rehabilitation doctor and hesitantly asked, “Do you encourage him like this usually?”
The rehabilitation doctor raised his eyebrows and smiled suggestively at Xie Ruhe: “Yes, indeed.”
“…” Xie Ruhe’s eyelids twitched slightly as he pressed his lips together, saying nothing.
Shu Nian thought for a moment, then suddenly pointed to a spot between the parallel bars: “Can I stand here?”
The rehabilitation doctor said: “Of course.”
Then, Shu Nian walked up and stopped at a position about three steps away from Xie Ruhe. Her expression was very serious as if she was treating this as a job to execute.
“Exactly three steps, one, two, three…” Shu Nian lowered her head and tapped her finger three times, then looked at Xie Ruhe, “If you walk over here, I’ll give you encouragement.”
The tone of that last sentence was identical to when she had tried to entice him with candy to make him walk her home every day after encountering that pervert.
Xie Ruhe was slightly stunned and nodded instinctively.
Although after repeated training he could now stand without holding onto anything for about a minute, walking three steps without support was still beyond his capabilities at this stage.
He held onto the parallel bars beside him with both hands and after preparing himself, his upper and lower limbs exerted force simultaneously.
His thighs felt numb and painful.
Sweat dripped down Xie Ruhe’s face, his jaw muscles tightened, and his upper body tensed as if he were using all his strength. His muscle lines stretched taut, blue veins visibly protruding.
He slowly exhaled, emptying his mind.
Seeing his condition, Shu Nian grew tense, holding her breath as she watched his movements.
Xie Ruhe’s movements were slow, almost giving the impression that the scene had frozen. After a while, he slightly lifted his left foot and laboriously moved one step forward.
A movement that couldn’t be simpler for ordinary people was extremely difficult for him.
Shu Nian’s nose inexplicably stung with emotion.
Xie Ruhe steadied his breathing, and after adjusting himself, began to lift his right foot.
The second step.
The step was very small.
The three-step distance Shu Nian had calculated was about one and a half meters. But now after Xie Ruhe had taken two steps, he had moved less than half a meter. The distance between them seemed hardly reduced at all.
After completing the second step, Xie Ruhe’s face turned pale, as if he was enduring some extreme pain.
He closed his eyes briefly and said hoarsely: “Sorry, it hurts too much…”
He couldn’t take the third step.
Though only one step away from his goal, it was a distance he couldn’t cross despite his desperate effort.
At the same time, the rehabilitation doctor brought a chair over and said: “Take a rest, let’s stop for now.”
The next moment, Shu Nian suddenly took a big step forward, as if completing the step he couldn’t take. She moved close to him, stood on her tiptoes, and gently embraced him, her hand patting his back in a comforting manner.
Her soft, small body surrounded him in an instant, and he could feel her breath against his chest. Xie Ruhe was completely drenched, with sweat still running down his jaw.
But Shu Nian seemed not to mind at all.
Not expecting her to make such a move, Xie Ruhe’s body instantly stiffened, not knowing how to react.
Soon, Shu Nian withdrew her hands, looked up at him, and said: “You did very well.”
“…”
“You did very well,” Shu Nian repeated as if stating something extremely important. “Xie Ruhe, I believe you will recover.”
Xie Ruhe’s voice was deep: “Is that so.”
“Mm.” Shu Nian patted his shoulder again, her small face serious like an old man, “Everything will be fine.”
Xie Ruhe stared at her steadily, then made a sound of agreement.
“Okay.”
There are moments like this.
No matter how disheveled, how powerless and enduring, how desperate and weary, even if overwhelming negative emotions come flooding in, they can’t withstand a single sentence from a certain person.
It’s as if, in an instant, daylight breaks through.
He only needs to believe without a doubt.
If she says he will get better, then he will recover.
Shu Nian’s birthday was quite coincidental, happening just a day before Valentine’s Day.
February thirteenth.
After entering high school, due to her personality, Chen Hanzheng gave her the nickname “bookworm.” But Shu Nian wasn’t just a student who buried herself in books, so the nickname emphasized the “silly” aspect.
Later, after learning about Shu Nian’s birthday, he changed it to “er bi” (idiot).
Some others thought it was funny and started calling her that too.
Shu Nian had a good temper. Although she didn’t like being called that, she didn’t mind too much. She had her approach—she would simply act as if she hadn’t heard anything when others called her that.
Once during a class break, Shu Nian sat at Xie Ruhe’s desk to explain a problem on a test paper to him.